Pubs of Manchester

Sunday, 29 January 2012

Cotton Tree, Cotton Hill

Shown as still trading on googlemaps, the Cotton Tree on Cotton Hill in Withington was demolished on 5th December 2010, having closed two months earlier to make way for new housing. Manchester photographer Aidan O'Rourke photographed the pub on 11th September 2002, noting the historic lamppost that the council removed a few years later [1]. I make no apologies for quoting Aidan below - he says it far more eloquently than I could:

"It is frankly traumatic to see these 'gems' of the urban landscape ripped out of existence like rotten teeth. Pubs have so many pleasant associations for so many people and often provide clues as to the history and character of other eras. Here of course, the Cotton Tree commemorates Manchester's associations with the cotton trade, something most young people today are totally unaware of. [1]"

"I was also disappointed that the beautiful and characterful old lamp standards were thrown on the scrapheap and replaced by unsightly modern ones with irritating fluorescent lights. Luckily many local authorities near Manchester and around the UK have not got rid of perfectly functional older lamp posts. Shame pubs or at least pub buildings can't be saved in the same way [1]."

The Cotton Treet was previously a Greenalls pub and offered Black Sheep bitter towards the end [2]. A small Cotton Tree Appreciation Society Facebook group was set up to remember the Cotton Tree, and the photos above show happier times for the pub and its locals [3]. The Cotton Tree was in a strangely-underpubbed area between Withington and Didsbury, but even at the end of its life the tenants were struggling to pay the bills [4].